News and Views

Impact investors have a long way to go to get impact management right. They need to get better at it, or risk meeting the same fate as ESG investing – being branded as a scam – and fail in their mission to save people and planet.

Just 28% of BlueMark's US$160bn-strong sample commit to “critical” practice, with impact investors that target below-market rates scoring better overall on impact management practices than market-rate peers.

PLUS: LeapFrog reaches 5% of low-income population; philanthropists back maternal and child healthcare fund in Asia; BlueOrchard launches financial inclusion fund; and more.

Social investment counts for just 1.4% of all UK business lending. So how can we get mainstream banks to play a much bigger role in the social economy? By changing the incentives – and therefore the culture – of banking, says the Big Issue Invest CEO.

Our SE100 winners share secrets to overcoming self-doubt, and tell us why it's all about family. Plus, the awkward questions facing a social entrepreneur when the very institution she's trying to change offers funding.

New research on value of UK impact bonds, estimating ten-fold return for government, delights Boris Johnson. But some say it's not clear if financing structure itself is what’s creating the value – nor how many proposed contracts are in the ‘graveyard’.

Six top-performing social enterprises and two outstanding leaders are announced today as the 2022 NatWest SE100 Social Business Award winners – including the first-ever SE100 Equality Champion.

Asia has huge scope for innovation and scale – not to mention wealth – but is often ignored on the global stage, says AVPN’s Naina Subberwal Batra, who urges social investors to grasp the “amazing opportunity” for action. 

Catalyst 2030 network mobilises some 1,000 organisations worldwide to sign open letter calling for end to short-term funding focused on symptoms, as network’s Systemic Change Awards go to SAP, European Commission and more.